June 18, 2021

The Republican Party's mission: whitewash the Trump presidency

Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN

Updated 6:29 AM ET, Fri June 18, 2021

(CNN) - The Republican Party has turned to another page in the authoritarian playbook as it whitewashes the history of Donald Trump's presidency.

It's as if the fawning over Vladimir Putin never happened. Or Trump's assurance that Covid-19 would simply "go away" never passed his lips. Trump's acolytes have, meanwhile, rebranded the worst assault in American democracy in modern times into a January 6 tourist jaunt as they seek to cleanse the reputation of the former President who told rioters to "fight like Hell" and, months later, still holds enormous sway over the GOP.

Trump and conservative propaganda media are also assailing Dr. Anthony Fauci to expunge the ex-President's neglect of a pandemic that killed hundreds of thousands of Americans on his watch.

The attempt to reconfigure the often disastrous historical record of the Trump presidency comes as the former President eyes a political comeback ahead of a new round of political rallies this summer teeing up 2022 primaries. And it takes place as much of the Republican Party is engaged in a crusade built on the former President's lies about election fraud to make it harder for many Americans to vote and easier for GOP officials to interfere in free and fair elections. Since the truth is too painful for Republicans and is detrimental to their future political prospects, an alternative narrative must be constructed.

more
https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/18/politics/republicans-trump-january-6-whitewashing/index.html

June 18, 2021

Matt Schlapp Tells Newsmax Republicans Could 'Crown' Trump as Speaker If They Win Back Majority...

Matt Schlapp Tells Newsmax Republicans Could ‘Crown’ Trump as Speaker If They Win Back Majority in the House

By Sarah Rumpf Jun 17th, 2021, 8:09 pm

American Conservative Union chairman Matt Schlapp told Newsmax’s John Bachman if the Republicans win back the House Majority in 2022, they could “crown” former President Donald Trump as Speaker.

Schlapp mentioned how Trump had been having rallies with his supporters, traveling to a variety of congressional districts to support candidates he had endorsed.

“There’s a lot of buzz out there,” said Schlapp, “that Donald Trump would even be potentially someone they’d crown as Speaker of the House if the Republicans get the majority back. I’m not saying that’s a live wire, but it’s an interesting conversation about Trump inserting himself in the fight for the Republicans to get back the majority.”

Schlapp was optimistic about the GOP’s chances in 2022, saying he thought there was a “high probability” they would take back the House, and that Trump’s involvement would be a “big boost” for them.

more
https://www.mediaite.com/tv/matt-schlapp-tells-newsmax-republicans-could-crown-trump-as-speaker-if-they-win-back-majority-in-the-house/

June 17, 2021

Prosecutors seek 'very substantial' prison time for Avenatti

Source: The Associated Press


By LARRY NEUMEISTER
today

NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors urged a judge Wednesday to impose a “very substantial” prison sentence on Michael Avenatti for trying to extort millions of dollars from Nike.

Prosecutors noted in a Manhattan federal court submission that Probation Office officials recommend an eight-year prison term for the California attorney who gained fame three years ago through his representation of porn star Stormy Daniels against then-President Donald Trump.

“The defendant, a prominent attorney and media personality with a large public following, betrayed his client and sought to enrich himself by weaponizing his public profile in an attempt to extort a publicly-traded company out of tens of millions of dollars. This was an egregious abuse of trust, and it warrants real and serious punishment,” prosecutors wrote.

The government said Avenatti, representing the director of a youth basketball program in Los Angeles, tried to force the apparel maker to pay him up to $25 million to keep him quiet about allegations of corruption involving Nike and college athletics.


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-business-34deb7d885dd1e495b8a06dafc627f14

June 17, 2021

Trump is Pissed Off About Andrew Giuliani's MAGA Campaign For New York Governor: Report

By Joe DePaolo Jun 17th, 2021, 9:13 am

Andrew Giuliani, the son of former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, is running a full bore MAGA-themed campaign to become the Empire State’s governor. One problem, though — he, reportedly, does not have the blessing of former President Donald Trump.

In a New York magazine feature on Andrew Giuliani’s longshot bid, Olivia Nuzzi reports that Trump is not on board. According to Nuzzi, the former president had already thrown his lot in with Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) — a longtime Trump favorite.

The mayor’s son claims that Trump has previously spoken well of his campaign to replace Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY)

“‘Giuliani versus Cuomo, that’s a heavyweight fight. You’d sell out the Garden with that,’” Giuliani told Nuzzi, purportedly quoting Trump.

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https://www.mediaite.com/news/trump-is-pissed-off-about-andrew-giulianis-maga-campaign-for-new-york-governor-report/

June 17, 2021

Lara Trump brags about 'good old days' when Donald Trump was 'unprepared' as president

June 17, 2021

Trump whines American Jews 'don't love Israel enough' because they didn't vote for him

Brad Reed
June 17, 2021

Former President Donald Trump once again cast aspersions on American Jews who didn't vote for him in either the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.

Jewish publication Ami Magazine] that American Jews didn't give him enough credit for everything he did to help Israel.

"I did the Heights, I did Jerusalem, and I did Iran... I believe we got 25 percent of the Jewish vote, and it doesn't make sense," he complained. "It just seems strange to me."According to the Jewish Virtual Library, Trump only received 22 percent of the Jewish vote in the 2020 election, while President Joe Biden received 76 percent.

Trump then questioned American Jews' love of Israel because they didn't vote for him.
"Jewish people who live in the United States don't love Israel enough," he said. "Does that make sense to you? I'm not talking about Orthodox Jews."

more
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-american-jews/

June 17, 2021

House set to repeal 2002 Iraq war authorization

June 17, 2021, 8:04 AM EDT
By Rebecca Shabad

WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday is poised to repeal the 2002 war powers resolution that authorized the use of military force in Iraq, a reversal that Democrats have been trying to enact for years.

The White House said earlier this week that it supports the measure, proposed by Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., because “the United States has no ongoing military activities that rely solely on the 2002 AUMF as a domestic legal basis, and repeal of the 2002 AUMF would likely have minimal impact on current military operations.”

Biden is committed to working with Congress to ensure “that outdated authorizations for the use of military force are replaced with a narrow and specific framework appropriate to ensure that we can continue to protect Americans from terrorist threats,” the White House said.

The repeal of the war powers resolutions from 2002 as well as from 2001, which authorized the U.S.-led invasion into Afghanistan, has come up for debate numerous times through the years, typically when presidents have relied on them for military action. Democrats especially have criticized the Iraq war resolution as a mistake predicated on false intelligence about the threat of weapons of mass destruction and have said the 2001 resolution has given presidents too much leeway to wage war.

more
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-set-repeal-2002-iraq-war-authorization-n1271107

June 17, 2021

Baker fined for refusing to make transgender transition cake

Source: CBS News/AP


JUNE 17, 2021 / 7:38 AM / AP

Denver — A Colorado baker who won a partial victory at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 for refusing to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple violated the state's anti-discrimination law by refusing to make a birthday cake for a transgender woman, a state judge has ruled.

In Tuesday's ruling, Denver District Judge A. Bruce Jones said Autumn Scardina was denied a cake that was blue on the outside and pink on the inside to celebrate her gender transition on her birthday because of her transgender status in violation of the law. While Jack Phillips said he could not make the cake because of its message, Jones said the case was about a refusal to sell a product, not compelled speech.

He pointed out that Phillips testified during a trial in March that he did not think someone could change their gender and he would not celebrate "somebody who thinks that they can."

"The anti-discrimination laws are intended to ensure that members of our society who have historically been treated unfairly, who have been deprived of even the every-day right to access businesses to buy products, are no longer treated as 'others,' " Jones wrote.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/colorado-baker-jack-phillips-transgender-transition-cake/

June 17, 2021

Texas governor signs bill outlawing abortions if Roe v. Wade is overturned

BY MARINA PITOFSKY - 06/17/21 08:09 AM EDT

Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday signed a bill into law that would ban abortions in the state if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, which federally granted women throughout the U.S. the right to an abortion. The legislation, known as House Bill 1280, would take effect if the Supreme Court “wholly or partly” overruled Roe v. Wade or if a constitutional amendment allowed states to prohibit abortions.

The measure would make it a second-degree felony to perform or try to perform an abortion. If the fetus dies, the penalty would be increased to a first-degree felony, with perpetrators potentially facing a life sentence.

Abortion providers could also lose their license under the legislation and face fines of more than $100,000.

The legislation does not provide exceptions for victims of rape or incest. It provides a limited medical exemption if the pregnant person “has a life-threatening physical condition” that would be aggravated by or caused by pregnancy.

more
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/558887-texas-governor-signs-bill-outlawing-abortions-if-roe-v-wade-is

June 17, 2021

Trump Conceded?

https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-concession-speech/